Industrial oven with expandable surfaces

Abstract

An industrial oven has at least one insulated wall including an inner shell connected to an outer shell by a plurality of pins extending through oversized holes in sheet metal plates forming the inner shell. The metal plates are simple metal sheets which can be easily sheared to size. The pins can compensate for significant misalignment between the inner and outer shells and do not require any modification of the insulation layers prior to mounting on the pins.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A wall for an oven having an interior chamber which is heated upon operation of said oven, said wall comprising: (A) an outer shell;   (B) a layer of insulation disposed between said outer shell and said chamber;   (C) an inner shell including a plurality of generally planar metal plates disposed between said insulation layer and said chamber, wherein spaces are formed between all adjacent plates which permit expansion of said plates without mutual contact when said chamber is heated, and wherein each of said plates has a plurality of oversized holes formed therein; and   (D) a plurality of support pins, each of which includes a first end affixed to said outer shell, an elongated shank, a second end, and a head secured to said second end, said elongated shanks extending through said insulation layer and said holes and having diameters which are significantly smaller than those of said holes so as to permit movement of said plates relative to said pins upon expansion of said plates, said heads tensioning said plates towards said insulation layer, thereby holding said plates in position.   
     
     
       2. A wall according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of overlapping metal lapping strips, each of which covers at least a portion of one of said spaces and has a plurality of oversized holes formed therein, and a second plurality of support pins, each of which includes a first end affixed to said outer shell, an elongated shank, a second end, and a head attached to said second end, said elongated shanks extending through said insulation layer and said holes formed in said lapping strips and having diameters which are significantly smaller than those of said holes in said lapping strips so as to permit movement of said lapping strips relative to said pins upon expansion of said plates and said lapping strips, said heads tensioning said plates and said lapping strips towards said insulation layer, thereby holding said plates and said lapping strips in position. 
     
     
       3. A wall according to claim 2, wherein said plates and said lapping strips are made from one of aluminized steel and stainless steel. 
     
     
       4. A wall according to claim 3, wherein said holes are about 1" in diameter and said pins are about 1/4" in diameter, and wherein said spaces are at least 11/2 inches wide when said chamber is not heated. 
     
     
       5. A wall according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said plates if a 4' and 4' square plate. 
     
     
       6. A wall according to claim 1, wherein said layer of insulation can withstand temperatures of 1900° F. and is positioned adjacent said inner shell, and further comprising a second layer of insulation which is disposed between and in contact with said first layer of insulation and said outer shell and which can withstand temperatures of 1000° F.